In this post, we discuss the most frequently used citation styles for business. We highlight the main features and provide examples of both in-text and bibliographic references for each style.
#1 Harvard
Harvard style is a popular format used in business papers. Its author-date citation system consists of in-text citations that include the author's last name and the year of publication. Full references for each source are listed at the end of the paper.
Harvard referencing resources
🌐 Official Harvard style guidelines (Cite Them Right)
Harvard referencing examples
Here is an example of an in-text citation in Harvard style:
A similar research was carried out in the field of entrepreneurship (Dheer, 2018).
Here is a bibliography entry in Harvard style:
Dheer, R. J. S. (2018) “Entrepreneurship by immigrants: a review of existing literature and directions for future research,” International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 14(3), pp. 555–614.
#2 MLA
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used by a number of fields, including business. It uses an author-page citation system. In-text citations are formed by putting the author's last name and the page number of the borrowed material in parentheses. Full bibliographic references are included in a works cited list at the end of the paper.
MLA style resources
🌐 Official MLA style guidelines
MLA style examples
Here is an in-text citation in MLA style:
However, a research proved this theory right (Falk and Hagsten 123).
Here is a bibliography entry in MLA style:
Falk, Martin, and Eva Hagsten. “Employment Impacts of Market Novelty Sales: Evidence for Nine European Countries.” Eurasian Economic Review, vol. 8, no. 2, 2018, pp. 119–137.
#3 APA
APA (American Psychological Association) style is a citation format used in the social sciences, education, and engineering, as well as in business. APA consists of two elements: in-text citations and a reference list.
It uses an author-date system, in which the author’s last name and year of publication are put in parentheses (e.g. Smith 2003). These parenthetical citations refer the reader to a list at the end of the paper, which includes information about each source.
APA style resources
🌐 Official APA style guidelines
APA style examples
Here is an in-text citation in APA style:
Recently, much debate has been stirred regarding digital economy (Banalieva & Dhanaraj, 2019).
Here is a bibliography entry in APA style:
Banalieva, E. R., & Dhanaraj, C. (2019). Internalization theory for the digital economy. Journal of International Business Studies, 50(8), 1372–1387.
#4 Chicago
Chicago style is another form of citation used for business papers and journals. It has two formats: a notes and bibliography system and an author-date system.
The notes and bibliography system is mostly used for the humanities, whereas the author-date system is used in science and business. The latter uses in-text citations formed by the author's last name and date of publication. A bibliography at the end of the paper lists the full information for all references.
Chicago style resources
🌐 Official Chicago style guidelines
Chicago style examples
Here is an in-text citation in Chicago author-date style:
Clearly, an opposing view dominated the topic (Tuncay 2018).
Here is a bibliography entry in Chicago author-date style:
Tuncay, Merve. 2018. “Do Political Risks Matter in the Financial Markets?: Evidence from Turkey.” Eurasian Economic Review 8 (2): 209–27.
#5 JBR
The Journal of Business Research offers a guide on how to format citations for any submission. It follows a straightforward author-date system, which you can see on the JBR style guide linked below.
JBR style resources
🌐 Official JBR style guidelines
JBR style examples
Here is an in-text citation in JBR style:
As seen in the journey of becoming an entrepreneur (Mahto & McDowell 2018).
Here is a bibliography entry in JBR style:
Mahto, R. V., & McDowell, W. C. (2018). Entrepreneurial motivation: a non-entrepreneur’s journey to become an entrepreneur. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 14(3), 513–526. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-018-0513-8
#6 JBE
The Journal of Business Ethics has specific rules on how to format citations for any submission. It follows a simple author-date system, which you can see on on the JBE style guide linked below.
JBE style resources
🌐 Official JBE style guidelines
JBE style examples
Here is an in-text citation in JBE style:
As a result, high-tech and low-tech industries were studied (Aldieri and Vinci 2018).
Here is a bibliography entry in JBE style:
Aldieri, L., & Vinci, C. P. (2018). Innovation effects on employment in high-tech and low-tech industries: evidence from large international firms within the triad. Eurasian Business Review, 8(2), 229–243. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40821-017-0081-9
Frequently Asked Questions about citation styles used for business
🏆 What are the top 3 citation styles used for business papers?
The top 3 citation styles used for business papers are Harvard, Chicago and APA styles.
🍰 What is the easiest way to make a reference list for business papers?
The easiest way to create a reference list for business papers is by using the BibGuru citation generator. This fast, free, and ad-free generator creates accurate citations with just one click.
🤓 Which author-date citation styles can be used for business papers?
The author-date citation styles used for business papers are JBE, JBR, Chicago and Harvard.
💸 What are the most popular business journals?
Some of the most popular business journals are: American Economic Review, Journal of Financial Economics, and The Journal of Finance, among others.
📓 Do business papers require a cover page?
Whether your business paper requires a cover page or not will depend on the specific requirements of the assignment or submission.
